Related stories

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Never underestimate the scorn and fury of the Cleveland sports fan.

Especially when jilted by a once-loved -- and now lost -- superstar.

"This is the worst day of my life," said John Horn of Amherst, who watched in frozen horror with hundreds of others at a Lakewood bar when LeBron James announced live on ESPN that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"But I'm not surprised at all. It'll be like Art Modell."

Modell -- maybe until now -- has been the most vilified figure in Cleveland sports history for taking the city's beloved Browns away to Baltimore in 1995.

As patrons exited Lancers, a Cleveland restaurant, they yelled things such as "Goodbye, LeBron" and "You're no king!"

Reaction was mostly negative around Northeast Ohio when fans found out that the kid who came through Akron and reversed the fortunes of a team and an entire region, will join fellow superstar free agents Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami to play for the Heat.

Shouts of "sell-out" echoed around the Harry Buffalo bar in downtown Cleveland as soon as James said the words "South Beach" -- the home of the Miami Heat.

One fan was carted away by Cleveland police after hurling himself at a local TV camera -- giving the out-of-town media swarming the site the fan reaction shot they were drooling for. A few others burned a couple of James' jerseys -- but again, mostly for TV cameras.

Once the decision was final, fans at the Harry Buffalo also demonstrated Cleveland's necessary short memory and strange, enduring hope -- chanting, "Here we go Brownies, here we go -- woof, woof," while the song "Cleveland Rocks" blared over the speaker.

The same was true in James' hometown of Akron, where more than 2,500 baseball fans at Canal Park booed heartily when a photo and message -- "LeBron James is no longer a Cavalier" -- was flashed on the scoreboard.

The boos transformed into cheers in the bottom of the seventh inning, though, when an Aeros player got a key hit.

Note for commenters

We understand your anger, but please show that Cleveland has class: no racism, no vulgarity, and leave James' family out of it. Commenters who cross those lines may have their accounts temporarily or permanently suspended.

So Cleveland and Akron may move on, eventually.

But for one night, the "Where will LeBron go" speculation that had spanned months seemed to dissolve instantly into spittle and vitriol.

"I thought the whole thing was tasteless, despicable, true trash and historic garbage," said Phoenix Jones of Cleveland, who watched the announcement at the Winking Lizard in Lakewood.

"How can you leave your own city in the dust? He has 'loyalty' and 'family' tattooed on him. His decision displays none of that."

Cleveland City Councilman Zack Reed showed up downtown to tell every microphone aimed his way that LeBron James' decision was a "slap in the face to every citizen" in the city.

He said James' message was basically: "I love you but you aren't good enough for me."

View full sizeStan Donaldson, The Plain DealerMike Franklin, owner of The Undisputed Barber Salon on Lorain Avenue in Cleveland and customers react to the LeBron James decision Thursday night.

Mike Franklin, owner of the Undisputed Barber Salon in Cleveland, said James is no longer his favorite player.

"In my heart, I knew he would leave," Franklin said. "I'm not going to root for him, I'm going for Kobe now and I don't even like him."

Customers and workers at Lancers also said they felt like the eatery itself: empty.

"This will hurt business for sure," said George Dixon Jr., restaurant manager.

At the Around the Corner bar on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, Daniel Rodrigues, 30, from Brazil, compared it to watching the soccer players in his home country.

"I'm afraid they will burn the stadium down," he said, noting that Brazilian fans have been known to flip over players' cars when they switch teams.

There appeared to be some precautions against violence in Cleveland -- at least against the iconic "Witness" banner hanging from a downtown building. Security guards parked in front of the banner about a half hour before James made his announcement.

Others remained strangely optimistic.

"He'll be back -- I mean we have a knew coach this year so we could be better than Miami," said Ken Glowacki of Amherst.

In the end, though, even the anger slipped away as quickly as the bars emptied.

Over at Panini's in Cleveland Heights, Ashley Hall, 22, of Cleveland, pouted while others screamed."It's disappointing," she said.

But she added that she thought the whole spectacle was anticlimactic. She thought people would be more riled up, but instead they seemed to sense that the King's departure was coming, she said.

Within 10 minutes of the announcement, the bar looked just like it would any other Thursday night -- with people singing along to the hit music playing on the speakers.

At Around the Corner in Lakewood, it was the same.

"I never really knew how much love we had for this guy until 10 minutes ago -- just dead silence," said Kevin Tuleta of Lakewood at Around the Corner. "And this is one of the biggest bars in the city."

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.